It was written by Francis Scott Key and inspired by his witnessing a major battle in the War of 1812, a conflict most Americans know little about.It's safe to say that most of us have never heard all four verses of the poem originally titled "Defence of Fort McHenry". But as a fan of hymns and of our great country, I enjoyed reading the whole thing, and I thought you might enjoy it, too.
Key was a lawyer who was nervously watching the British navy pound Maryland's Fort McHenry with cannon balls and recently developed Congreve Rockets. This war was no guaranteed victory for the Americans (in fact the Capitol Building and president's mansion in Washington had just been burned down before this battle). Key wonders if, when the night is over, the American flag will signal that we still hold our ground, or if Baltimore (the nation's 3rd largest city) will be destroyed. He asks:
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
When dawn finally breaks, he gets his hope-filled answer:
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam
of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected
now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Thrilled with the victory, Key rejoices over their enemy's defeat. He apparently saw the British as haughty, mercenary professionals, and he expresses no sorrow for their loss! I love this verse, especially the first four lines, but I can see why we never hear it in our politically correct modern culture:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save
the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight,
or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
In light of America's triumph over her enemy, Key then ends his poem with a beautiful blessing. I've heard a couple recordings over the years that include this verse, and I'd love to hear it more:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must,
when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto:
"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
This past weekend we've remembered some of those "freemen" who stood "between their loved homes and the war's desolation" and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. As one who has never served in the armed forces, I am so very appreciative and proud of our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much over the last 230 years to protect families like mine and to preserve our great nation. And even with its flaws, I believe this country to be the greatest country on earth, and I consider it a true gift from God for those of us who live here! Long may its banner wave!
(If you'd like to learn about the story behind the song, I suggest the Wikipedia.org page which you can find here. There is also an interesting article from the Smithsonian that includes a picture of the actual flag that flew at Fort McHenry, which you can see here.)
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